Foreign ownership may threaten plant's domestic control.

Updated 7:51 pm, Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The power plant near Bay City is operated by the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

The power plant near Bay City is operated by the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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The South Texas Project nuclear power plant is well fortified for obvious security reasons. The plant is looking to expand with two more reactors. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

The South Texas Project nuclear power plant is well fortified for obvious security reasons. The plant is looking to expand with two more reactors. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Electric transmission lines leading to and from the South Texas Project electric generating station traverse grassy fields near Bay City, Texas. Known to most as STP, the plant sits on a 12, 200 acre site. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

Electric transmission lines leading to and from the South Texas Project electric generating station traverse grassy fields near Bay City, Texas. Known to most as STP, the plant sits on a 12, 200 acre site. JOHN ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Water in the 7,000 acre resevior near the two nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project near Bay City roils and bubbles on a hot June day. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Water in the 7,000 acre resevior near the two nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project near Bay City roils and bubbles on a hot June day. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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More huge pipes empty water from the plant into the 7,000 acre reservior. The plant uses a closed loop cooling system that recycles the reservior water.The plant has no evaporation towers like many other nuclear plants have. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

More huge pipes empty water from the plant into the 7,000 acre reservior. The plant uses a closed loop cooling system that recycles the reservior water.The plant has no evaporation towers like many other ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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The Colorado River flows near the South Texas Project electric generating station, and critics of the plant's expansion are worried about flows in the river when water is taken from the river for the plant's use. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

The Colorado River flows near the South Texas Project electric generating station, and critics of the plant's expansion are worried about flows in the river when water is taken from the river for the plant's ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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A riverfront home on the banks of the Colorado River is about three or four miles from the South Texas Project nuclear power plant near Bay City. Water use in the area is one of the major concerns of plant expansion critics. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

A riverfront home on the banks of the Colorado River is about three or four miles from the South Texas Project nuclear power plant near Bay City. Water use in the area is one of the major concerns of plant ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Huge pipes leading into the STP nuclear power plant near Bay City supply water from a vast 7,000 acre lake that sits on the site. Water availability is one issue that opponents of the plant's expansion are raising. JOHN DAVENPORT less

Huge pipes leading into the STP nuclear power plant near Bay City supply water from a vast 7,000 acre lake that sits on the site. Water availability is one issue that opponents of the plant's expansion are ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Nuclear expansion review halted at S. Texas Project

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has suspended its review of the foreign ownership portion of the application to expand the South Texas Project nuclear plant over concerns that the owners haven't done enough to ensure domestic control of the plant.

Toshiba Corp., based in Japan, could obtain an 85 percent ownership stake in the two nuclear plants proposed for the site outside of Bay City, the NRC found, meaning the company could have “the power to exercise ownership, control or domination over NINA,” or Nuclear Innovation North America.

NINA is a partnership between Toshiba and NRG Energy, which currently shares ownership of STP's existing nuclear plants with CPS Energy and Austin Energy.

The president of NINA said in a statement Wednesday that the company is committed to complying with all NRC requirements, and noted that the rest of the application before the commission will continue to move forward.

NRG and CPS were partners in the expansion effort until disagreements over its cost devolved into a bitter lawsuit that ended with CPS retaining just a small stake in the project.

Earlier this year, NRG announced it would no longer commit additional capital to the development of the new units.

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That apparently could allow Toshiba to acquire a 90 percent ownership position in NINA, which the NRC in its letter said translates to the 85 percent stake in the two proposed units at STP.

The commission asked NRG for more information on its “foreign ownership Negation Action Plan,” in late summer and fall, but that information appears to be insufficient.

NRC staff, in its Dec. 13 letter to NINA, determined that the plan as submitted doesn't meet the requirements of a federal law prohibiting foreign ownerships of a nuclear plant because, since NRG will not be investing additional capital in the project, “there is reason to believe that most of the financing going forward will be from Toshiba,” a foreign corporation.

The commission confirmed that the rest of the licensing application will continue to move ahead, but a license, which has been expected by sometime in 2012, will not be granted until the foreign ownership question is resolved.

Jamey Seely, NINA's president and CEO said the company has taken a number of steps to ensure American control over the project, including placing Americans in key positions, including the chief executive, regulatory and safety heads.

CPS is not involved in any of the financing discussions within NINA, said a spokeswoman, and she noted that the proposed nuclear plants are not part of the utility's current long-term generation planning.

If the plants do get licensed and built, she said, CPS would incorporate the roughly 200 megawatts its investment will bring into future projections.

The expansion, Seely said in her statement, represents an opportunity “to bring billions of dollars in investments and thousands of high quality jobs to the U.S., and we remain confident that the NRC and NINA will work together to ensure its potential is realized.”